Brothers
by Ana of Asgard
Summary: **CONTAINS INFINITY WAR SPOILERS** "The sun will shine upon us again," Loki had said. Thor isn't so sure.
1. Part I

**A/N - Before anyone reads this, remember there are INFINITY WAR SPOILERS. BE WARNED.**

 **Next, I want to say Infinity War was amazing, although I 100% intended to make a fix-it fic changing Loki's death when I walked out of the theater.**

 **But then….this happened. This fic was probably the hardest thing I've ever written. It's not the longest but after reading dozens of these heart wrenching Infinity War fics I wrote one myself. And this is the result.**

 **I appreciate reviews and all feedback!**

 **—**

 _"Your brother's head for the Tesseract."_

Thanos' voice echoed around in Loki's head. Loki knew, all along, which choice he would make in the end.

Yet anyways he'd smirked, denying it. "Kill away."

And that's exactly what Thanos did. Thor threw his head back as he screamed in agony, eyes bloodshot with face caked with dust and sweat and blood. The Mighty Thor was dying.

 _Goddamnit, Loki_. Loki wished he could take a knife and cut out his heart, because his heart was aching too much for him to bear. Piercing green eyes prickled with involuntary tears, sharp nails dug into his palm.

Maybe Loki could have resisted if Thor had met his eyes pleadingly. But the Prince of Asgard didn't even try, as though he _knew_ what Loki's answer would be. Loki had backstabbed him too many times to count.

" _Stop!_ "

It was only a matter of time before Loki would've given in, he knew, but still the word brought the feeling of defeat. He had _failed_. Thanos would have yet another infinity stone.

A cruel smile twisted Thanos' lips as Loki pulled out the Tesseract with steady fingers.

And when Thanos took the Tesseract, Thor murmured in a low voice, "You really are the worst brother." It was perhaps meant for a joke, but the words stung more than Thor would ever know.

As Loki watched Thanos crush the cube and pull out the Infinity stone concealed in there, he realized with a hollow, dull feeling that he was going to die.

Loki had been prepared for death when he let go of Gungnir on the Bifrost. He had been prepared for death when he fought the Avengers in New York. He'd been prepared for execution when taken to Asgard after his failed invasion of Earth. He'd been prepared for death when he fought at Thor's side on Svartalfheim.

He was not ready for death _now._

He wasn't ready to die, Loki thought with a panic and urgency he hadn't felt in a long time. He _couldn't_. He didn't want to go leave this world, leave _Thor_. For the moment, it was now just Thor and Loki against the rest of the world. The idea of leaving Thor on his own did not seem like the best course of action.

Yet Thanos had told Loki he would kill him for failing to take the Tesseract the first time. Loki was going to die at the hands of Thanos—best get this over with.

He watched the Hulk be inevitably defeated by Thanos with numb, unseeing eyes. Loki wanted to send Thor a quick glance, a _hey-I'm-going-to-die-for-real-now-so-bye-brother_ glance, but he didn't dare attempt to shoulder the heavy weight of Thor's stare.

Loki was barely aware of what he was saying to Thanos—lying came so easily to him now. But after that, now, _that_ was the important part. These were going to be the last words of Loki.

He held himself up proudly. "I, Loki," he said, voice echoing into the silence.

"Odinson," Loki declared. The word no longer felt like shards of glass in his mouth, instead, it felt warm, like home.

"Prince of Asgard," Loki went on, "Rightful king of Jotunheim, God of Mischief."

He let the dagger forming in his hands be clearly visible to Thor, taunting him with it. Loki knew he was going to die. Thor knew Loki was going to die now, too.

Thor began to trash wildly, mumbling something incoherent behind the metal over his mouth. A faint, bitter smirk tugged at the corners of Loki's mouth, and he turned towards his brother.

"The sun will shine upon us again," Loki promised, forcing back tears, but Thor's impossibly blue eye was frantic now, screaming at him. Loki felt a sliver of doubt. Maybe this wasn't the best idea, perhaps he should try to escape….

 _No!_ Loki was not backing out now. Thor had already seen him die twice, he'd mourned for him twice too. Does it get easier after a certain point?

If Loki kept thinking about this, he would never do it. Gritting his teeth, Loki forced the dagger forward with all of his strength.

It wasn't a surprise when Thanos stopped the blade's path without even twitching.

As Thanos' fist began to squeeze Loki's neck, life draining out of his body, he felt the need to say something, _anything_. "You—you will _never_ be a god," Loki managed. _Not like Thor._ Stupid, noble, loving, golden Thor.

Thor was screaming behind the gag, _No, no, no,_ but his voice was rapidly fading into the background.

Loki wished he'd turned his head so he was looking at Thor, because he didn't want to die staring at Thanos.

As Thanos hurled Loki's limp body to the ground, Thor's screams of grief, rage and despair ringing in his ears, Loki drew his last breath, knowing that when he opened his eyes again it wasn't going to be in Valhalla.

He hopes when all of this is over, when Thor looks back on the moment, that he hears everything Loki so desperately wants to yet cannot say. That Loki said 'Odinson' for Thor, because Thor was the last Odinson and Loki wanted to be his kin, his brother in Loki's final moments.

 _Forgive me, brother. I was a fool._

 _I was always your brother. I never stopped._

 _I'm so sorry._

 _I love you._

 _Goodbye._

 _—_

Loki was up to something.

Thor always knew by the way Loki spoke. He spoke jauntily to Thanos now about being an escort on Earth, words easy, flowing and loose, but Thor knew Loki wasn't hearing what he was saying. There was a fear, and nervousness underneath, the faintest tremor that only a brother would note.

Many times, Thor cursed Loki's unreliability, traitorous ways. But now he was grateful for it. Loki would talk his way out of this, of course he would. Loki would escape.

Loki would be alive, and that was enough for Thor.

But now, there was something wrong.

"I, Loki. Odinson." Thor knew the cost it took Loki to say that word. A knot of uneasiness formed in his stomach, especially when Loki sent him an undecipherable look.

"Prince of Asgard," Loki went on, "Heir to the throne of Jotunheim, God of Mischief."

 _I guess what I'm trying to say is that you'll always be the God of Mischief, but you could be more_. A lump caught in his throat.

 _You_ are _more, Loki,_ Thor wanted to say now, because he had a horrible suspicion of what Loki intended to do. _You are so much more. Please, just_ leave _now Loki, don't do this. Please don't._

Loki was turning now, staring straight into Thor's wild eye. "The sun will shine upon us again," he promised, and Thor wanted to scream, because those were last words.

The dagger that Loki formed in his hands might as well have stabbed Thor in the heart.

Thor began to thrash wildly, screaming muffled behind the gag. Why, oh _why_ did Loki have to be _courageous_ now?

And as Thanos choked the life out of Loki, something inside Thor shattered.

Because this wasn't like last time, or the time before that. Loki was dead, and he would stay dead.

Just an hour ago, Loki had been hovering at Thor's elbow, laughing at something Thor had said. If only Loki had left. But no, Loki _had_ to stay. The one time he didn't backstab Thor, and look at what happened.

"No, no, no," Thor was crying out in disbelief. Loki looked so small, so tiny and frail in Thanos' hands. That was Thor's little brother.

 _His_ little Loki, who tagged behind Thor for a thousand years.

Thanos tauntingly tossed Loki's limp body down at Thor's feet. "No resurrections this time," he mocked, and Thor's stomach turned. Tears were already on his cheeks, though he couldn't remember crying.

Asgard.

Heimdall.

Frigga.

Odin.

 _Loki_.

Thor had lost so much.

And no matter what Loki had said, Thor knew the sun would never shine upon him again.

—

 **A/N - I—I'm sorry.**

 ** _Not_. **

***bursts into a flood of tears***

 **EDITED: Sequel is now up, and it's called 'Aftermath'. Feel free to check it out!**


	2. Part II

**A/N - Yeah, well, I thought I was done with this arc, but I guess I'm not. You guys are just too nice. Sequel to 'Brothers', but can also be considered a stand-alone.**

 *****CONTAINS MASSIVE INFINITY WAR SPOILERS*****

 **—**

"I have nothing left to lose," Thor had told the scruffy rabbit.

His mother was dead. Odin was dead. The Warriors Three were dead. His supposed sister was dead too. Asgard was obliterated. Her people were slaughtered at the hands of a madman. Heimdall, one of Thor's greatest friends, was stabbed through the heart. Loki was gone.

But as Thor stands dumbstruck on Earth, watching the remaining ashes of those he called friends scatter in the wind, and the world he'd grown to care for and swore to defend fall into chaos, something breaks inside him.

In that moment, Thor learns that there is _always_ something to lose.

—

Thor is currently sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree as he absently pulls out clumps of grass from the ground. Although he doubts anyone will agree with him, he wishes there are still more of those monstrous beasts to defeat.

Twirling and ramming Stormbreaker methodically, cackling with electricity, air smelling of ozone and blood singing, Thor can put off thinking. Because he doesn't _want_ to think.

 _You're an oaf,_ Loki would say affectionately, a small smile quirking his lips. _Not all problems can be solved by simply throwing Mjolnir at it. You need to use your brains, Thor._

 _I can't_ , Thor tells his imaginary Loki. _Then I'll have to admit you're dead. I don't want you to be._

Loki laughs, a familiar, high, clear sound that made Thor's heart ache. _Thor,_ he says with another smirk, _I_ am _dead._

Thor lets out an enraged yell of pain and grief, body encasing in cackles of white-hot electricity. Some people turn to look at him, but most are so lost in their own grief that they don't even notice.

Thor hears footsteps behind him, but he doesn't turn his head. He can make a pretty good guess on who it was.

Natasha Romanoff slides down next to him, hugging her knees in the way Loki always would. A lump rises in Thor's throat.

"How're you holding up?" she asks softly.

When Thor raises his eyes to meet hers, he is unsurprised but saddened by the change in her face. The assassin is still as beautiful as ever, but the fiery look in her eyes has softened to a quiet, steely resolve. Her face is haggard, yet a weary smile still graces her lips.

There was a time when Thor would guard his tongue around her. Natasha is a spy, and Tony had taken Thor aside separately one day and told him that Natasha reported nearly everything to SHIELD.

Now, SHIELD no longer exists, and even if they did, Thor can't care less about what they thought.

"I'm not holding up at all," Thor says, bitterness and raw grief laced in his voice.

Natasha laughs without humor. "Yeah, well, who is?"

—

That night, lying in a bed that was completely unfamiliar to him, Thor dreams.

He dreams of Asgard. He dreams of golden, endless summers, the beautiful palace in all its glory and splendor, the colorful, gay markets, laughing children, the training grounds where Thor had spent many a long, weary hour, and of rippling fields of golden wheat and the sparkling, rainbow Bifrost.

He dreams of his golden childhood, the rustling of Frigga's cool skirts, Odin's rare smile of praise and approval, Loki's bright, mischievous green eyes and his never ending pranks. He dreams of bare, childish feet splashing in shallow creeks, of _Amma_ 's soothing voice murmuring stories, of boisterous conversations with the Warriors Three and of a familiar, silver, smooth voice and a lazy, cunning smirk.

When Thor sees Loki, he falls to the ground in despair. "I cannot do this, Loki," he says, because he just _can't_. Simply because he was the most powerful, all the humans look toward him for guidance. And worse than that, Thor knows he must lead them. He is a king—no, _was_ a king. One is not a king when there is no people.

Loki raises an eyebrow. "You can't," he agrees, "but you will. Not because you are a god, not because you are a king but simply because you are _Thor_. You must do this, Thor, for Asgard, for Frigga, for Odin."

Thor's little brother smiles. "For _me_."

When Thor awakes, he sits up abruptly, hugging his knees like he did when he was a child. Loki had been there, so _real_ that Thor's throat constricts and his heart twists painfully.

When Odin passed, Thor did not cry. When the Warriors Three were slaughtered, Thor did not cry. When Asgard fell, Thor did not cry. When Heimdall and Loki died, Thor did not cry. When his friends disintegrated into the atmosphere, he did not cry. Thor had to be strong, but now there was nothing holding him back.

For all those times he did not cry, Thor cries. He cries for his life that was, his life that is, and his life that was to come. He cries for his people, for his parents, for his friends, for his brother.

He knows you can not bring back the dead. They are all gone, and they are never coming back.

The least Thor can do is avenge them.

—

 **A/N - Not as awful as the other one, but I hope you enjoyed it :) The language is a good deal more coherent in this chapter since I wasn't helplessly sobbing the entire time.**

 **I'm planning to do another Infinity War oneshot, concerning the actual deaths of all the characters and the disintegration 'deaths' as well. I probably won't add on to this unless someone gives me a genius idea.**

 **I'm obsessed with Infinity War right now, and I'd love any prompts/ideas/suggestions for another oneshot! Can be fix-it, and I prefer to keep the relationships canon.**

 **All reviews/feedback are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Deleted Scene

**A/N - Sorry, not a new official update to the story. I just wrote this scene originally to be Loki's POV from the first chapter, then discarded it and rewrote it. But I don't want it to go to waste it as I'm rather fond of this little snippet, so please enjoy :)**

Dying never gets easier.

It isn't so much the pain, it's more the _thought_ of dying, of leaving this world for the unknown. Loki prefers to be in control, and dying is probably the most out-of-control you can get.

Falling through the endless Void, Loki had been prepared to meet the cold, unrelenting arms of Death. Bleeding out on Svartalfheim with a grieving Thor over him, Loki had also been ready.

He certainly isn't ready _now_.

Normally, if Loki wasn't ready for something, he would instantly back out and wait. Loki does everything in his own time and in his own way, no matter what everyone else thinks. Loki is not one for jumping outside of a comfort zone.

The trouble is, he can't exactly _stop_ himself from dying. With Thanos' huge, purple fist crushing his neck and with Loki's feet currently dangling two feet off the ground, there isn't much he could do.

Loki should have thought this through before he attacked Thanos with nothing but a knife. Dying heroically seemed fine at the moment, now, Loki wants nothing more but to _leave_.

Thor is trashing wildly in his bonds, desperate to stop Thanos but unable to do anything. He is screaming behind the strip of metal covering his mouth, crying out either _No, no, no,_ or Loki's name itself.

The thought of Thor grieving him should give Loki savage pleasure, strangely though, it doesn't. It just makes Loki's heart hurt.

Loki is barely aware of Thanos hurling his limp body to the ground in front of Thor. There are voices, and then Thanos and his minions are gone.

Thor is grabbing him, sobbing as he falls over his little brother's body. Loki wants to say something, _anything_ but simply can't summon the strength.

 _We were raised together._

 _We played together._

 _We fought together._

Loki refused to let them die together.

With the last of his strength, Loki cast a protective charm over Thor and finally slipped into oblivion.

 _I'm sorry, brother._

 _No resurrections this time._

—


	4. AN

**A/N - Not a chapter, sorry :( But just in case you guys are interested, I posted a new post-Infinity War fic starring Thor & Loki-it's called Nothing Gold Can stay. Happy reading, and I live for reviews :)**


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